A Pirate Bay Co-Founder Is Planning a Totally Encrypted Messaging App

Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay, is planning to create an encrypted messaging app that's so secure that even its creators won't be able to read the messages that get sent.

Called Hemlis — which means "secret" in Swedish — it's described as a messaging app along the lines of WhatsApp or iMessage. The difference is that the intention is to use end-to-end encryption to protect your privacy.

In-keeping with the Pirate Bay philosophy, the app won't use advertising or sell user data -- so it's planning to fund itself through an initial donation scheme and subsequent charge-for services. In the first instance, it's looking to gather £60,000-odd to develop an app for iOS and Android.

The core app will — so the devs claim — then be free to download, but certain features, like sending images, will be pay-for. People who make donations of £4 and up, though, will receive a codes for the full, unlocked version of the app.

The team behind Helmis say that if the entire funding pool isn't raised you'll get your money back — but given they've already racked up $24,571 out of their $100,000 target that seems unlikely. You can read more about the project over on the Helmis site. [Helmis via Verge]